Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's 29-ball 97 crushed Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL Eliminator at New Chandigarh on Wednesday, May 27. His early assault set up Rajasthan Royals' win and ended SRH's campaign, despite SRH being level on points with the top two teams.
SRH entered the Playoffs with a strong net run rate. But they were undone by a Powerplay onslaught from the 15-year-old. His hitting swung the match inside six overs and left SRH chasing the game for the rest of the night.
'He Doesn't Plan Anything': Jurel Explains Fearless Approach Of Sooryavanshi
Riyan Parag said team management keeps things simple with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. "Just leave him alone, let him go and have fun, he told broadcasters. Dhruv Jurel added more detail on the young opener's
mindset in the post match press conference.
"The best thing about Vaibhav that I have noticed is that he doesn't plan anything, Jurel said. He highlighted Sooryavanshi's heavy practice load. "He always backs himself. He doesn't even have a shadow of doubt that 'I am not able to do it'.
Jurel said Sooryavanshi follows one simple batting motto. He does not care about the bowler's name or record. "He just watches the ball. That's all, Jurel said. "His mantra is 'I don't want give a damn about any bowler'.
SRH Failed To Execute With The Ball
SRH assistant coach James Franklin said they tried many options but could not contain Sooryavanshi. "There was a very, very small margin where you could bowl to him, he said. He felt the good pitch made execution tougher for his attack.
Franklin said SRH first tried to bowl quite full. They aimed at a line inside the leg stump to get under his swing. But Sooryavanshi adjusted fast. He then cleared the straight fielders even when SRH used unusual mid off and cover positions.
Franklin praised his bowlers for the death overs effort. He said RR once looked set for 270 or 280. He also said there was no early move to spin, as SRH wanted Pat Cummins, Eshan Malinga and Sakib Hussain to lead the Powerplay.
Fearless Indian Youngsters Rewriting T20 Batting Script
Franklin refused to link Sooryavanshi to past players. "I don't think anyone's ever seen a talent like this, he said. He called the teenager's progress "freakish and said he should improve further with strength and batting maturity over many years.
Franklin placed Sooryavanshi within a wider T20 trend. He said young players now show little fear after growing up with T20 on TV. They aim for boundaries when batting and use variations when bowling. He felt the IPL in India shows that rising pace most clearly.
